Speed Up Investigating Bogus Marriages: Auditor

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); jQuery(document).ready(function() { jwplayer.key='EKOtdBrvhiKxeOU807UIF56TaHWapYjKnFiG7ipl3gw='; var playerInstance = jwplayer("jquery_jwplayer_1"); playerInstance.setup({ file: "https://newsstatic.rthk.hk/audios/mfile_1588159_1_20210428175126.mp3", skin: { url: location.href.split('/', 4).join('/') + '/jwplayer/skin/rthk/five.css', name: 'five' }, hlshtml: true, width: "100%", height: 30, wmode: 'transparent', primary: navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Trident")>-1 ? "flash" : "html5", events: { onPlay: function(event) { dcsMultiTrack('DCS.dcsuri', 'https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1588159-20210428.mp3', 'WT.ti', ' Audio at newsfeed', 'WT.cg_n', '#rthknews', 'WT.cg_s', 'Multimedia','WT.es','https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1588159-20210428.htm', 'DCS.dcsqry', '' ); } } }); }); });

2021-04-28 HKT 14:19

Share this story

facebook

  • A report by the Audit Commission said as of December 2020, there were 2,237 outstanding suspected bogus marriage cases. Image: Shutterstock

    A report by the Audit Commission said as of December 2020, there were 2,237 outstanding suspected bogus marriage cases. Image: Shutterstock

The Audit Commission on Wednesday called on the Immigration Department to clear a backlog of bogus marriage cases in Hong Kong.

A report by the public spending watchdog said as of December 2020, there were 2,237 outstanding suspected bogus marriage cases, of which almost half of them had been pending for up to two years.

The rest of them, meanwhile, had not been dealt with for between two and 11 years.

One case cited by the commission concerned a suspected bogus marriage in November 2012, which was flagged by mainland authorities as possible bigamy.

It said attempts to locate the suspect were "not entirely effective", despite the Immigration Department having made several phone calls and five home visits in 2013 to try to find him.

It was only in 2019 when the officers carried out a case update that they realised the suspect had died in January that year.

The watchdog advised the department to consider setting time targets for such cases, and step up efforts in locating suspects.

The Commission also called on the department to ensure its list of civil celebrants for marriages is up to date and to consider providing refresher courses for them.

According to the Marriage Ordinance, civil celebrants must be either a practising solicitor or a practising notary public.

However, the Audit Commission found that 34 of the 2,277 people listed by the authorities as civil celebrants were neither.

RECENT NEWS

StartmeupHK Festival And Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 Merge For 10th Anniversary Milestone

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on 10 March 2025 that both of its flagship events, Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 an... Read more

Ant AI-Powered Health Insurance Processes 7.25M Claims In 2024, 55%YoY Increase

In 2024, Ant Insurance, the online insurance brokerage platform of Ant Group, processed 7.25 million health claims, mar... Read more

Ping An Talent Uses AI For Job Matching, But Can Technology Make Recruitment Fairer?

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. has launched its 2025 Spring Campus Recruitment, offering over 2,000 p... Read more

HKEX Partners With CMU OmniClear To Boost Post-Trade Securities Infrastructure

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on 4 March 2025 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read more

PAObank Secures Insurance Agency Licence, Partners With Ping An And FWD Hong Kong

PAO Bank Limited (PAObank) has received its Insurance Agency Licence from the Insurance Authority and signed strategic ... Read more

IFAST Launches Self-Service Accounts For Hong Kong Family Offices

Fintech solutions provider iFAST HK launches self-service accounts in Hong Kong, catering to the growing demand for ind... Read more